Keeping Your Cool In Trying Times Starts With Self-Awareness

Have you considered taking a Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator?

Article inspiration from Forbes, June 2020

Moderate stress is normal and has positive benefits. As stress levels ratchet up, however, our thinking can become clouded by negative emotion, and in these states, we can be prone to make poor decisions, as demonstrated by a 2017 study by Wemm and Wulfert.

Fast-forward a few years later and we find ourselves mired in one of the most stressful global situations we’ve seen in a long time. On top of worrying about our health and that of our loved ones and friends, we’re bombarded with news about illness and frightening economic statistics every day.

And many feel this stress acutely in the area of money management and investment. Numerous studies show stress can affect our approach to risk, which is strongly tied to investment strategy. The last thing you want to do right now is make poor investment decisions. But how do you stop stress from taking over and find a path to clear-headed decision-making?

Keeping Your Cool In Trying Times Starts With Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is key. If you know how your personality type affects your natural approach to risk-taking, as well as what stresses you out in the first place, you’re better able to keep yourself in check so you don’t make regrettable decisions.

Let’s have a look at how personality preferences may influence our tolerance for risk, based on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) type (I’m Director of U.S. Professional Services for The Myers-Briggs Company). For information on how to access your personality type, go HERE. MBTI type identifies whether we:

• Focus attention on the outside world of people and things (Extraversion) or the inner world of thoughts and feelings (Introversion)

• Trust and use information based on experience and the evidence of the five senses (Sensing) or consider the future and how things connect to make the big picture (Intuition)

• Make decisions on the basis of objective logic (Thinking) or of values and on how the decision will affect people (Feeling)

• Live in a more structured, organized way (Judging) or in a more flexible, spontaneous way (Perceiving)

How Personality Type Affects Risk Tolerance/Aversion

A study by Filbeck, Hatfield and Horvath found that investors with a higher tolerance for risk were more likely to have a Thinking preference, while those with a Feeling preference were more risk-averse.

Furthermore, a study by Desmoulins-Lebeault, Gajewski and Meunier also found that those with preferences for Introversion, Sensing, Feeling and Judging were more risk-averse. The team found an interaction effect between E-I and T-F — among extraverts — those with a Feeling preference were more risk-averse than those with a Thinking preference.

As stress reaches higher levels, we often tend to overuse our natural personality preferences. In other words, if we’re prone to be risk-takers, we may find ourselves taking bigger risks, and vice versa if we are naturally risk-averse. (In situations of prolonged extreme stress, like the death of a family member, this can change, but we’ll save this for another conversation.) By recognizing this tendency, we can check ourselves from some of the more extreme investment choices we might otherwise make.

Don’t Ignore Stress: Make The Necessary Changes

Seclusion, loneliness and isolation can be major stressors across several personality types. If this describes you, don’t dismiss it — do whatever you need to in order to get some social interaction in. Call friends, engage in group chats, etc. But don’t think that you should be able to “tough it out.”

Additionally, you probably noticed two camps — one that is stressed out by a loss of structure to one’s routine, and one that is stressed out by too much structure.

It’s easy to see how either of these could be someone’s reality right now. If you’re suddenly working from home, you may find that your routine has been unpleasantly disrupted and the structure you’ve built in your life is disappearing. If this is you, do whatever you can to bring structure and discipline back into your day.

On the other hand, some who prefer less structured work environments and are suddenly switched to remote work may find that their companies are asking more reporting and checking in, all in the name of accountability.

Either way, the path to clear-headed thinking, which is paramount to striking the balance between risk tolerance and risk aversion that’s necessary for sound money management, starts with asking yourself:

• What stresses me out?

• How is this increased stress level affecting my natural tendencies toward risk aversion or risk tolerance — will I tend to make more or less aggressive decisions?

• What elements in my life — particularly those relating to the current COVID-related changes — that are causing me stress do I have control over, and what can I do to mitigate them?

SURVEY: How soon do you expect the economy to return to normal (i.e. similar to before the pandemic)?

Excerpted from Time, June 18, 2020

Even for those people whose wallets have not been directly impacted, who are able to work from home and retain their same income, the anxiety can be just as present. “There’s a level of uncertainty now, because we don’t know where the economy is headed,” says Danetha Doe, personal finance expert. “Even though they’re in a position where everything is OK on paper, they don’t feel financially secure.”

Financial anxiety isn’t an isolated condition; increased feelings of stress and anxiety can impact your overall physical and mental health and well-being.

“Stress and anxiety in our financial lives has a direct impact on our physical and mental health,” Doe says. “When we look at how any kind of anxiety and stress impacts the body, it can lead to things like heart disease, inability to sleep, and lowered immunity, which during a pandemic is incredibly harmful.”

The effects can be just as dangerous, but anxiety stemming from financial issues directly can also present a more tangible path to resolution in some cases, because money has such a visible impact on our decisions and goals.

And while lender assistance and relief programs have provided help in the short term, questions about long-term, sustainable solutions remain.

“There are measures which are enabling people to hold it together now, but people in those situations are desperately worried about what’s going to happen in the future: when unemployment runs out, when evictions start again, when the lights are going to get shut off,” says Annie Harper, an instructor at the Yale School of Medicine who researches the relationship between financial health and mental health.

“Even if that’s not a worry today, the anxiety about that happening next month or the month after is just as profound as for someone who doesn’t have money now. This uncertainty around what will happen with those relief measures is very significant and causing lots of anxiety.”

Beginning the Recovery Process

The economy, and its workers, will take time to bounce back from the economic recession caused by the coronavirus, which officially began in February. But many economists are optimistic with the beginnings of recovery across the country as businesses reopen and economic activity returns, even predicting we could already be moving into stages of economic expansion.

But the sectors of the economy that were hit the hardest, such as entertainment and travel, are expected to recover much more slowly. “Those parts of the economy will be challenged until people feel really safe again,” Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said in an interview with “60 Minutes” in May.

“For everyone, it’s important to have that awareness of what you can control and what you cannot control. Take the steps to do things that are under one’s control and then realize there’s many factors that aren’t under our control. Nobody really knows the future course of this virus and when things will feel more normal again and when the economy will feel as though it’s recovered significantly.

Moving Forward

This moment in time and the uncertainty it brings is a turning point, both personally and systemically, experts say.

“There’s some in the financial therapy realm who talk about financial flash points. That is something related to money that happens to us and really sticks with us, affecting us for years to come. I think this is going to be a financial flash point for many people, especially the ones who have had the trauma of suddenly losing their job and feeling very insecure.

How do we cope? With regularly practicing self-care and other healthy coping mechanisms, such as exercise, social interactions, and other things that you find enjoyable, to build resilience to face lasting uncertainties. You should also consider talking to your doctor if your anxiety becomes debilitating.

We are certainly still in this, but we are all feeling it , albeit at different levels. Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

The reverberations to our society and our economy are going to be felt for a long time. We should be gentle with ourselves in terms of holding space to just be in the discomfort of not knowing, which is really hard for a lot of us to do.

***

How about you? When do you think the US will return to our previous normal? Or do you think it’s time to create a new normal? I’d love to know your thoughts! Koorosh

More Than 41% Experiencing Pandemic-Related Financial Anxiety / How to Build an Emergency Fund During a Pandemic

How to deal with coronavirus-related money stress, according to financial psychologists

If you’ve lost your job — or are worried about it — therapists say there are a few things you can do to ease financial anxiety. I also invite you to watch a series of videos I created to help alleviate Money Anxiety HERE.

Original article from TODAY, Mind & Body

Pandemic Has Increased Money Anxiety. Therapists Hope to Cure That.

The Original article from The New York Times, May 22, 2020

Dale Mackey closed her event space in Knoxville, Tenn., a week before the state issued its orders to end large gatherings. She did not think about the economic ramifications of shuttering her business, the Central Collective; she said it was the right thing to do to reduce the spread of the virus.

Work dried up for her husband, Shawn Poynter, a photographer, so to help make ends meet, Ms. Mackey began spending more time on a side business, making sweet and savory pies and selling them online. She and her husband are in their mid-30s and have some savings and no debt beyond mortgages on their home and the event space, so they were content hunkering down.

But as the weeks wore on, thoughts of financial anxiety began to emerge.

“It’s much more of a struggle for me about when we can reopen,” Ms. Mackey said, adding that the uncertainty began to weigh on her. “It’s different if I knew we were going to be opening in three months.”

In this financial crisis, many Americans are facing increased stress about money. But Ms. Mackey turned to a solution that few people try: She sought a financial therapist, a professional trained to counsel people about their money woes. Most have advanced degrees in psychology or clinical social work.

Ms. Mackey found Amanda Clayman, a financial therapist in Los Angeles who has a podcast on financial therapy within WNYC’s Death, Sex and Money franchise.

“When you bring up the topic of financial therapy, people are like, ‘That’s me, I want help,’ or their level of defensiveness is so intense,” said Ms. Clayman, who puts people on the proverbial couch for her podcast, “Financial Therapy With Amanda Clayman,” which was introduced this week.

The pandemic is an ideal time to lay bare people’s psychological struggles around money, she said, because the financial fallout from closing the U.S. economy for months is far from certain. Add to that the guesswork around how lockdown orders may have changed consumer spending habits.

“This pandemic is like a black light,” Ms. Clayman said. “It’s suddenly revealing all the things that were present before but unseen.”

How Do You Rate As A Landlord?

As we continue our conversation around “Mindfulness , Money and conscious Landlording” my intention is to continue to shed light on how we, as landlords, can run a sustainable, triple bottom line (People, Planet, Profit) real estate operation while remaining sensitive to the needs of our tenants. There is a stigma attached to the role of landlord – that stereotypical ‘slum lord’ who skimps on improvements and lets his properties deteriorate while he increases the rent with every turnover. But I’m not talking about that. I’m guessing you are pretty good at what you do with your rental properties. But could you do better?

Landlords should always be self-reflective – adapting to the changing needs of tenants and thinking about ways to enhance the rental experience; both in terms of the tenant and the income potential of your rental.

I’d like you to answer the following questions:

Do you calendar at least one visit to your properties every year?

Sure, the checks role in and sometimes you need to hire a contractor for a routine service call – but what is really going on with your investments and your tenants?

It’s easy for landlords to fall into a false sense of security. But that would be a grave mistake.

Your standards are, after all, very different to your tenants. Maybe the tenant doesn’t care that there is a water leak in the bathroom, or is afraid to mention the rodent issue for fear of retribution. Lots of renters in a tight market want to be invisible for fear of a rent increase or an eviction. And likely, they don’t care about the long-term impact a leak or pests have on a property they will be leaving in a matter of months. But you do!

Visiting your tenant – if done right – also improves your relationship. If you periodically schedule a visit, or better yet, state in the lease that you anticipate semi-annual property visits to ensure the property stays up to the standard it was upon the lease signing, the tenant is likely to consider you to be both reliable and somebody who cares about the safety and comfort of your tenants. This could equal longer term rentals and less wear on the property. An actual inspection, and not just a phone call, affords you the opportunity to thoroughly review the current state of the property: paintwork, broken or damaged tiles or lighting – small issues that inform your judgment of what to do next.

Are you maximizing your income potential?

One of the fundamental pillars of effective property management is understanding whether your property is earning as much as it should. Are you staying in touch with the market with the latest services from Apartment List?

Given that local property markets can radically change over short periods of time, it might be worth taking the time to learn whether your rental rate is consistent with other properties in your area.

Are you aware of improvements to your local area? For instance, a new employer may have moved into the area which now attracts high-income jobs. This, in turn, can have a profound impact on rental value. Make a point to check out the market at least once per year, or engage the services of a property management consultant to assess your property’s current value.

Are there one or two improvements you could make at the next turnover to dramatically increase your rental income?

It feels as though every rental I’ve seen recently has an open floorplan, more windows than walls, a granite kitchen island with a gas range – and a much higher rent to match. These costly improvements will pay for themselves with higher rent, paid by tenants who cherish the improvements and are happy with their more luxurious environments. This will result in less turnover, less wear, and a better relationship for you.

Are you capitalizing on optimal mortgage rates?

Assuming your property has a mortgage, it would be smart to consider your buy-to-lease mortgage rate. You may, for instance, be able to secure a more optimum rate elsewhere with a different provider. Consider opting for a better rate – either through negotiating with the same provider or by switching to an alternative mortgage provider.

Are you SMART?

Are you using the latest apps and devices to keep your home safe and secure by installing keyless locks, temperature controls, noise monitoring and even the monitoring of carbon dioxide levels, which can tip you off to instances of over-occupancy.

Are you looking at innovative rental options?

In 2018, we saw a number of developments involving traditional property managers joining forces with real estate developers and agents to provide new solutions. For example, Airbnb launched Backyard, an initiative moving the platform into building physical homes that accommodate flexible and shared living arrangements, in addition to providing its tradition of short-term stays. And the pop-up WhyHotel straddles the line of residence and Airbnb by working with real estate developers to turn un-leased units into furnished hotel units. Consider innovative ways to serve your market!

Are you saving for a rainy day?

Even in today’s boom rental market, we must anticipate a bust will come. Don’t be caught off guard by not saving enough to repair property damages or going without a tenant for months at a time in your luxury apartment. If you are part of the short-term rental market, prepare for tax changes and a growing glut in the market as the long-term rental owners continue to turn to the short-term rental market for fast and furious profits. A continued overload in this market will force landlords to be ever more creative and may result in the lowering of rental rates. Don’t let this catch you off guard.

Conclusion

The bottom line is stay aware and vigilant! Nothing is permanent! Everything, including including rent, real estate values, interest rates, people’s moods, and every opportunity in the market place will ebb and flow. If you hang on too tight it will feel like arope burn, if you are too lax and out of touch, the rug may be pulled out from underneath your feet and you can loose your nest egg.

My advice is to find the balance! Where is the middle way for you?

Guidelines for being a fair landlord

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 To Landlords: Transform yourself in to a conscious, compassion Landlord. Remember it’s People, Planet then Profit! These are just reminders for myself, which I am hoping to share with other fellow landlords.

I’ll be the first to admit that for a long time I had this all wrong! Because I’d grown up as a first generation American in a survival-oriented household, I conveniently forgot my own humble beginnings, with my mother struggling to keep a roof over our heads. Looking back, I recall my mother quietly pleading with Mr. Murphy that our plumbing was leaking or our air conditioning needed repair. I would cringe to see his disregard, as if we were to blame for the wear and tear of his building. My mother and I both were deeply impacted by this kind of shame and we both fought diligently to become property owners.

With good fortune on our sides, she helped us develop the security that comes with home ownership, and as an adult, I followed in her footsteps.

I wish I could say that I remembered the shameful lessons taught to me by Mr. Murphy’s callousness, but I managed my first multi-unit property just like Mr. Murphy. I was a young man proving his worth by treating my tenants as if they were lucky I didn’t throw them out on the street for complaining if the building’s washing machine broke down. I thought I was a big deal, making big real estate decisions and not caring about the feelings of those around me, especially my tenants. I was completely unconscious and not in touch with the tension I carried in my body.

Several years later, in my mid 30s, I made some bad development decisions and hit rock bottom, losing everything I’d fought so hard to gain. In those first few months I thought that this was the worst thing that could have happened to me, and I’d never recover what I’d “lost.” However, after a whole lot of soul searching, I realized I had not been happy with my life and woke to find I didn’t even like the person I’d become. Sure I had known a little success, but I didn’t know how to be compassionate to others and how to stay in touch with my inner compass.

People / Planet / Profit

Of course it was a struggle both mentally and financially to rebuild my real estate holdings, but I stayed in real estate development and consciously chose a path where I could cultivate a deeper, mindful and triple bottom line orientation. This is not easy to do in the capitalistic system where the market determines the value of a rental space. Because there are so few properties on the market, tenants are forced to bid in an ever-increasing rental market, and home ownership is slipping further and further from our grasp. Rent control, which was once meant as a protection for tenants, has now meant that huge rent increases incur before the rents are locked in for their ‘protection.’ This displaces more and more tenants every year. Many of these homes are then filled with high tech millennial who work around the clock to make the rent. I’m sure you see it every day!

While I am a businessman, and I am all for maximizing profits, I refuse to gouge my tenants, cheat my vendors, or short pay the hardworking immigrant laborers whose sweat and labor have led to my success.

The housing crisis is undoubtedly one of the biggest issues facing Governor Newsom. Here are some facts to consider for all of us who live here in California:

The rising cost of housing has emerged as a threat to the state’s future economy and the well-being of its citizens. Indeed, when housing costs are accounted for, California has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation. According to the PPIC Statewide Survey (May and September 2017), 47 percent of Californians—including 61 percent of renters—say housing costs are a financial strain.

California is home to the ten least-affordable major markets in the country and ranks near the top in cost-burdened households—second among homeowners and fourth among renters. Californians spend disproportionate shares of their income on housing.

It also has the second highest homelessness rate, the second lowest home ownership rate, and the second-lowest number of housing units per capita. Of course, housing markets vary widely across the state. For example, housing is especially unaffordable in coastal areas, and homelessness is highest in Los Angeles.

Our state has six of the nation’s fifteen most-expensive large metropolitan rental markets: San Francisco (number one), San Jose, Oakland, Orange County, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Since 2015, rents have risen from 25 percent to 50 percent in these areas. According to estimates by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the median fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in these areas ranges from $1,934 in Los Angeles to $3,085 in San Francisco.

Among homeowners with mortgages, median monthly housing costs are 50 percent higher in California than in the nation as a whole. California renters pay 43 percent above the nationwide median—while California’s median household income is only 19 percent higher than the nationwide median. This means that the share of Californians with excessive housing costs is quite high: 38.4 percent of mortgaged homeowners and 55.3 percent of renters spend more than 30 percent of their total household income on housing, compared with 27.5 percent and 49.5 percent nationwide.

What Can Landlords Do?

Learn The Laws

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is responsible for enforcing state fair housing laws that make it illegal to discriminate based upon race, color, ancestry or national origin; religion; mental or physical disability; sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; genetic information; marital status or familial status; and source of income. The law applies to landlords, real estate agents, home sellers, builders, mortgage lenders, and others. The law prohibits discrimination in all aspects of the housing business, including: renting or leasing; sales and mortgage lending and insurance; advertising; practices such as restrictive covenants and on new construction. To learn more about this go to CA.gov.

Set Standards

As a landlord, you are obligated to set standards or requirements for anyone interested in renting out your property. That means the qualities you look for in a tenant should only be based on factors such as income, criminal record, references, length of stay and credit score. These standards should apply for everyone and anyone who meets those standards should be considered to become a potential tenant.

Don’t Make Assumptions

While you do hold the cards as a landlord, you do not have the right to assume what a tenant needs, what they can or cannot afford, or what neighborhood would suit them best. Do your due diligence and vette each and every qualified tenant with the same care.

Just Because You CAN Doesn’t Mean You Should

Everyone knows the rents are already high and are only expected to increase further. But maybe your costs are somewhat fixed, or the rent you currently make more than adequately covers the costs of running the property. If that is your situation, consider not taking advantage of the situation and leaving the rent as it is right now. The difference it makes to you may be minimal while the difference to an existing tenant or a new tenant means a hardship. Would you rather have a happy tenant that appreciates you, or an overworked tenant that knows you are bilking them?

Will share more in Part 6.

San Francisco Landlord Shares Insights, Part IV

Let It Flow

In the last blog, Turn on your Physical GPS, I discussed how we hold anxiety in our bodies, and offered a few tips to alleviate our stress by becoming more mindful. Our body is our best indicator, so we need to become more aware of its messages to us.

I have spent years exploring money and mindfulness and observed how, when, where and why money flows into and out of my own life. When I am in a state of fear and constriction, my relationship with money gets stuck. When I can become at peace and act with conscious intention and action, it flows.

I’ve observed this in other’s lives, as well. I recently had lunch with an real estate colleague of mine who’d felt called to engage in creative projects, but at the same time felt constricted about how to free up his time by extracting himself from some of his existing commitments. He was happy his real estate holdings were generating a profit, but was not finding time to take care of himself, and in fact, was engaging in a pretty unhealthy lifestyle to relieve his money anxiety; drinking away his money anxiety at night, and awaking tired and achy every morning. He felt constrained by the obligations and commitments he had created for himself, however that consciousness had not raised itself to a place of awareness in his mind. His relationship with his money was not mindful.

During our lunch, I noticed that he was hunched over, eating quickly, and agitated. Over time, we discussed topics that brought us both to a more relaxed place and I noticed he slowed down and looked more peaceful, but still quite weary. However, when we talked about his dream of taking a sailing trip to the Caribbean, he lit up! It was beautiful to see the transition in my friend’s face. After we talked for a while, I told him I noticed a change in his energy and helped him realize that even taking just a few minutes to drop in to the fantasy of being the captain of his own ship—imagining that he could delegate his real estate responsibilities in order to go off on a sea adventure—provided a useful shift from doubt and fear, to joy and peace. He got it.

Similarly, in my work with prisoners, giving them the tools to pause and remember their dreams, experiences of happiness, and to hold the faith for the future as a way for the lights to come on in their lives. Now, I’m not saying that dreams alone will get us to our goals, but they will create a pattern in our thoughts. The patterns in our thought help us to create goals. And goals can lead us to make smarter choices. The key is to keep the lights on by constantly making an effort to remember to be mindful.

I encourage my clients to become more aware of the ‘issues in their tissues’ by taking time outs during the day to check in; do a quick body scan, breathe into the area of their body that feels restricted and tight, and re-center. By becoming mindful of how we hold stress in our bodies, we can bring consciousness to our thoughts. And this is the beginning of the change that will bring us to the lives we most desire.

In the midst of a money anxiety crisis, real or imagined, when we take the time to check in with our bodies, something will always shift. Always. Let it become a catalyst for awakening and opening your mind and heart to the new financial and spiritual reality you want to create—one based on trust, balance, and flow.

San Francisco Landlord Shares Insights, Part III

Turn on your Physical GPS

Tune in to your gut feeling as well as other physical signals that may surface in your body. Once you become aware of these messages from your subconscious, you can move toward those opportunities that make you feel good, and trust yourself to avoid those things that might turn out to cause you more trouble than you need. Think of those feelings – like shortness of breath, sweaty palms and racing heartbeat – like the blinking lights on your car’s dashboard, warning you of potential danger.

It’s your body guiding you to avoid poor financial decisions. It is always there, ready to advise you on financial/life transitions, investments or transactions, such as making a purchase of a consumer good.

Green light means go! Red light means Stop! You can sense these in your body. If you feel a good sensation, gut feeling, or you heart is feeling happy then it’s green. Go to the next step in your due deligence process. If  you feel tense, uptight, stressed (not a bad thing, just the body’s way of saying something is not right, there is danger a head, or you are pushing too hard to make this  deal work. If you over ride these signals, the consequences can be suffering all the way around; You suffer, others may suffer, and the engine may blow up.

The nuts and bolts around real estate are simple. Buy right, don’t follow the herd, make sure you don’t over extend yourself and have the right investment partners. And always be ready for the next storm, for it will come — often at the worst possible time. In the last recession, many of us tried to silence our gut instincts and followed the ‘experts’ to their detriment.

I myself have been through at least four recessions and each one felt like a Katrina. Indeed, every time I left my body out of the decision-making process, I paid big time. In hindsight, I can see that most of the bad decisions I’ve made all involve my ego and not my inner guidance. The lack of an integrated decision, taken from both my intellect and my gut, led to over-paying, over-borrowing, and trusting the wrong people.

Just recently I was working on a deal involving a purchase five houses on one lot. It looked like a great opportunity; these houses would be torn down so I could build fifteen homes. The numbers seemed okay, but deep down in the pit of my stomach, I noticed something didn’t feel right. Displacing the current tenants and forecasting a few years in to the future around a potential profit at the current purchase price seemed outside both my moral and financial mission statement.

In the past when I ignored these feelings I lived with some ugly consequences. Now knowing  to trust my gut, after some mindful contemplations, I recognized the red lights flashing. I experienced constriction, pain, stress and anxiety in my body. And while the numbers were good and my mind said ‘yes’ – my body helped me to realize this opportunity was not aligned with my deeper goals, mission and values. When I finally pulled out of the deal, it became clear it was the right decision for me. The feelings were back to peace, joy, and harmony.

My advice to anyone contemplating any kind of large transaction (or small agreement!) is to do the numbers, but follow your gut. It will never steer you wrong.

San Francisco Landlord Shares Insights, Part II

In my last post, I briefly discussed the current situation in the San Francisco rental market. Now I’d like to address some ways for both landlords and tenants to understand and cooperate with one another.

As a landlord, I accept that it can be a challenge to pay the hefty mortgage on a rent controlled apartment when I know its market value, but I am also proud to have the means to house the elderly, the under-employed, and many other wonderful tenants at 25% of the market rent. As one of my Buddhist teacher friends explains, rent control is what allows individuals to live near their work and their community, so I see my position as one of service, which brings me comfort.

To Landlords

I won’t beat around the bush here. Many of you are taking advantage of the current market and forcing tenants out of their homes to make way for higher income producing tenants. It’s changing the makeup of our city, and not always for the better.

If you can afford it, there are small steps you can take to make life easier for renters.

1. Offer your own ‘subsidized housing’ by providing an affordable home to an artist, student, teacher, or someone who works in a field that you feel is over-worked and under-appreciated.
2. Consider your own ‘rent control’ by holding your rents where they currently sit. There is no way to know what tomorrow will bring financially, but you are likely making a hefty profit on your rental properties. Don’t be greedy.
3. Consider offering an ‘extended tenant’ discount. If your tenants have lived in their homes for more than two years, consider dropping the rent by the normal cost of turnover. This good will gesture will show your tenants you care and you will have the benefit of no rental turnover time and expense.

If you own multiple rentals in one building, these gestures will keep your tenants happy and will likely encourage community and care for your properties. All human beings want to feel secure. This is your way of supporting your tenants wellbeing at an affordable cost to you. Yes we live in a capitalistic system, but we can be instrumental in keeping the system healthy and balanced. It’s not all about squeezing every last dollar out of a rental.

To Renters

It’s a tough rental market, no doubt. If you can afford to pay the rent you have, while putting some money away, I suggest you do it. Otherwise, I suggest you consider downsizing or creating a co-housing situation that allows you to do so. You might also consider renting in an up and coming area where rents are more reasonable. When you are looking to buy your first home, do your research and watch the market trends.

Now is not the time to invest in real estate. But if you are a renter making money in this economy, take advantage of your income. Work hard and save for your investment. It may be the wisest decision you could make for yourself and for your future.